Tuesday, June 28, 2016

He found a piece of the truth

A gratifyingly positive response to yesterday's post prompts me to return to the wisdom of Jiddu Krishnamurti. My header image shows the original Deutsche Grammophon release of Mohan Kauns, which Ravi Shankar composed at white heat following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948. Gandhi famously declared that "My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God." Which underlines both the contemporary and perennial relevance of this story told by Krishnamurti*:

The devil and a friend are walking the earth. Ahead of them, they see a man bend down and pick up something shiny from the ground; he looks at it with delight, puts it in his pocket and elatedly walks off. The friend asks, 'What did that man find that changed him so much?' The devil answers, 'I know; he found a piece of the truth.' 'By jove!' exclaims his friend: 'That must be bad business for you!' 'Not at all', the devil replied with a sly smile, 'I'm going to help him organize it'.

*The fable is transcribed from The Kitchen Chronicles: 1001 Lunches with Krishnamurti by Michael Krohhnen. Although long out of print copies of this unpretentious and engaging book can still be found. It is recommended as a refreshing complement to Krishnamurti's own always wise but sometimes stilted prose. Any copyrighted material is included as "fair use" for critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Also on Facebook and Twitter.